Food: Hot Chicken Salad

It should be criminal that I’ve had this blog for so long without mentioning my mom’s Hot Chicken Salad.  It’s a family favorite and, while it will never be considered “health food,” it is low in carbs/sugar and really delicious. It is best when topped with potato chips, but I didn’t have any on hand, so the below picture has some extra almonds sprinkled on top.

Hot Chicken Salad (serves 2-4) 4
Chicken Breasts (about 2 lbs)
3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup mayo (maybe more, depends on how you like your chicken salad)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp tarragon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup celery, chopped
Potato chips for topping (wavy chips are best)

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts in a shallow pot, pour in chicken broth (make sure all chicken breasts are covered) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, heat until chicken is just cooked (it’s going in the oven later), 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness). Remove chicken from broth, set aside to cool. In a large bowl, mix mayo, almonds, celery, lemon juice, tarragon, and 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese. Dice chicken breasts and add to bowl, mix to combine. Spoon mixture into a baking dish, top with remaining cheese, plus extra almonds or potato chips (if you’d like). Cover with aluminum foil, bake for 30-40 minutes until hot.

This goes surprisingly well with the sweet potatoes I posted about recently – and they make it decidedly more healthy.

*Edit* Mom has reminded me that if you top this with chips, do NOT cover it with foil when you bake it- if you do, the chips will wilt!